Traffic cameras coming to a road near you?

Hoping for smoother traffic on the area’s busiest thoroughfares, the Virginia Department of Transportation is proposing to install more traffic-monitoring cameras in the Charlottesville region.

If installed, the cameras would be the first of their type on the U.S. 29 corridor. Mounted on tall poles at traffic signals, they would be able to monitor real-time traffic flow, congestion and response to crashes.

“It’s a tool to help us make the roadway work more efficiently,” said Lou Hatter, a spokesman for the state transportation department.

VDOT plans to install 16 cameras throughout Albemarle, Greene and Louisa counties — including several at major U.S. 29 intersections such as Barracks, Hydraulic and Rio roads; on U.S. 250; and on Interstate 64 from Crozet to Zion Crossroads. Installation costs are estimated at around $800,000 and maintenance costs per year are about $1,800 for each camera.

Currently, beginning with the junction of Interstate 81 and I-64 in Augusta County and ending in Charlottesville, there are eight traffic cameras on I-64 monitored by a traffic center in Staunton.

The closest camera to the Charlottesville area is at mile marker 104 at Afton Mountain in Albemarle. There are no cameras in Greene or Louisa.

“We’ve tried to cover most of the congested areas and most of the urban areas on the interstate, and we’re spreading them out,” Hatter said.

He added that U.S. 29 is “a major transportation artery.”

Though the state supervises traffic cameras in Albemarle, Charlottesville has full authority in monitoring its traffic cameras. Lonnie Randall,

Charlottesville’s traffic signal manager, said the city currently has 13 similar traffic-monitoring cameras installed in various locations, including at the intersections of Ridge-McIntire and West Main Street, Hydraulic Road and the U.S. 250 Bypass, and Emmet Street and Ivy Road.

“We find them to be a great tool in emergency and non-emergency situations,” city spokesman Ric Barrick said. “Most specifically, it helps us during bad weather situations.”

There are 72 traffic signals within city limits. Randall said the city has been installing traffic-monitoring cameras for the last two years, and more will be in the pipeline because, he said, area traffic increases by 500 to 1,000 vehicles every year.

City officials have also floated the idea of installing different cameras to catch red-light runners, but money has not been allocated in this year’s budget. Under a law passed by the General Assembly in 2007, the city would be allowed to install cameras at four intersections. These cameras’ technology allows them to photograph license plates of red-light runners, and $50 fines are then mailed to the vehicle owners.

Barrick said the red-light cameras are currently on the back burner because of other city priorities.

Lt. Todd Hopwood with the Albemarle County Police Department said the county has considered installing red-light cameras as well, and there have been certain intersections identified as good locations for the technology — including U.S. 29 and Hydraulic, Greenbrier and Rio roads; and the intersection of U.S. 250 and Stony Point Road.

However, Hopwood said the county is waiting for other jurisdictions to submit state contract bids, and then perhaps Albemarle will jump on as well.

“We’re kind of holding back until it’s been a tested and true program,” Hopwood said.

Hatter said the traffic-monitoring cameras have nothing to do with red lights and would not be used for law enforcement or highway surveillance. Though they do have recording capabilities, Hatter said the cameras would rarely be used for such purposes.

The state transportation department is holding a citizen information meeting later this month to allow the public to review the project.

The meeting will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Albemarle County Office Building on Fifth Street. The public may also review the plans for the cameras at VDOT’s office at 701 VDOT Way off U.S. 250.

Pending approval, installation is slated to begin in late fall.